31 May, 2012

Johnny Jones was a nice, popular
boy, who everyone loved. He was so much fun, so good, and so kind with everyone
that they treated him wonderfully, always giving him presents and looking out
for him. And as everything he needed was given to him without asking, Johnny
became weak. He was so spoiled by everyone that he couldn't endure any
hardship, nor did he have any strength of will.

You would think that him having a
little stone in his shoe was almost killing him. If he felt cold he would put
so many clothes on that you would think he was at the North Pole. If it was
hot, he couldn't keep his top on for even a minute. And if he were to fall and
hurt himself... well, that was a nightmare. Someone would have to call an
ambulance.

He became so well known for being
weak that one day Johnny heard a mother saying to her son "Come on, my
boy, get up and stop crying. You're behaving like Johnny Jones". That made
Johnny feel so ashamed that he didn't know what to do. But he was sure that he
would prefer to be known as a good boy rather than a softie. For several days
he tried to see how much he could put up with hardship. It was true: he
couldn't endure anything. Any little pain made him cry like a tap.

Worried, he spoke to his father
about all this, though he was afraid maybe he would be laughed at for having
such worries. His father, far from laughing at Johnny, told him that the same
had happened to him when he was a boy, but that a teacher had taught him a
secret trick to turn him into the toughest boy of all.

-"And what is the
trick?"
-"Eat a candy less, study a minute more, and count to five before
crying".

Johnny could not believe it.

- "Just that?"
- "Yes, just that." - said his father, -"It's very simple, but I
warn you that it won't be easy."

Johnny went off happy as a lark,
ready to follow that advice to the letter. He went to see his mother, and she
noticed how happy he was when she offered him two candies. "One candy
less", thought Johnny, so he only took one. It wasn't easy, though, and he
realised his father and been right. To leave one candy sitting in his mother's
hand really took it out of him! That same afternoon he had another chance to
put the trick into practice, by studying for one minute more. The outcome was
that he missed the first minute of his favourite program! But having achieved
this gave him a great feeling of satisfaction. The same happened when he bumped
into the corner of the kitchen table. He only managed to count to four before
crying, but his mother was well impressed at that.

Over the following days Johnny
kept applying the motto to his life. Eat one candy less, study one minute
more, and count to five before crying. And the more he put this into
practice, the easier it got. Before long he realised that not only could he eat
fewer candies, study more minutes, and cry fewer times, but he could also do
things that before would have seemed impossible, like eating vegetables or
running for a good while.
Happy, he took some paper and wrote down the trick. He kept this in a wooden
chest. The chest had a sign on it, saying "Important Things I'll Be
Telling My Kids".

Strength of will can be developed
through small but consistent efforts.

Gail the Whale lived in a small
salty lake. She was the only whale in that territory, and she led a very
comfortable life. In fact, this easy life made her a bit fussy. But, one year,
there was such an incredibly hot summer that the lake's water really warmed up.
Gail, used to such an ideal existence, could hardly stand the hot water. A
little fish, which had spent some time in a child's goldfish bowl, told Gail
that humans used fans to cool themselves down in summer. From then on, Gail the
Whale couldn't think of anything else apart from how to build her very own fan.

Everyone told her that she was
overreacting, and that the hot weather would soon pass, but Gail got to work,
constructing her enormous fan. When it was finally finished, she started fanning
away at herself.

Unlucky for the fish!

The giant fan beat the little
lake's waters so strongly that huge waves rolled right across it. The waves
crashed onto the lakeshore, leaving the lake half empty, and Gail stranded in
only a few inches of water.

"You couldn't just hang on
for while. You had to empty the lake," some unhappy-looking fish berated
her.

"So impatient! So
selfish!" others shouted. But the worst of it for Gail was not the
insults, but the fact that with so little water around her, the heat was
becoming unbearable. Preparing herself to die of heatstroke, she said her
goodbyes to all her friends, and they asked for her forgiveness. She assured
them all that if she were to live again she would be stronger and learn to put
up with life's discomforts.

Yet, once again, Gail the Whale
was overreacting. She managed to survive those hot days without dying,
although, of course, she suffered. When the next rains arrived, the lake filled
up again, and the weather improved. Naturally, Gail had to keep her promise,
and show everyone that she had learned not to be so dependent on comfort, so
impatient, and so fussy.

There was once a bat for whom
having to go out and hunt insects was just a terrible amount of effort. He was
such a lover of comfort that, one day, when he happened to look through a
window and saw a bird in its cage, and that it was given all its food and water
without having to do anything at all, the bat decided to become a child’s pet.

The bat changed his whole
routine. He got up at dawn to fly to parks so he could be spotted by some child
who might adopt him as a pet. However, as bats aren’t particularly attractive,
the children paid him little attention. So the bat decided to improve his
appearance. He made a beak, stuck a load of feathers to his body, and learned
how to whistle so that his bat calls weren’t quite as horrible as before. And
so it was, that with great good fortune, he met a little boy who hardly every
wore his glasses and was so short-sighted that this strange-looking black
little bird’s ridiculous appearance didn’t really matter.

The bat was happy in his cage, in
a warm and comfortable house. There he felt like the best of all bats, and
certainly the cleverest. But that feeling lasted only up to the time he started
feeling hungry. When he wanted to eat there were no flies or insects there for
him, only a load of birdseed and cereal for which the bat felt the height of
disgust... So much so, that he was determined to die of hunger rather than
sample that bird food. However, his new owner, noticing the bat getting
thinner, decided he wasn’t going to let his little bird starve to death. Using
a syringe and a spoon, he made sure that this was the first bat ever to become
intimately acquainted with birdseed...

Some days later, the batbird
managed to escape the cage and return home. He was so ashamed and embarrassed
that he made sure he told no one what had happened. However, he couldn’t stop
the other bats commenting on how much effort he now made when they were out
hunting flies, how strong and tough he had become, and how he no longer seemed
to worry about the inconveniences and discomforts of living in freedom.

Everything in life has its
unpleasant or uncomfortable side. These aspects cannot be removed from life.

Charlie could not remember how
many times he had heard his grandpa tell this story:

"Everyone's soul," said Grandpa, "is like a fidgety bug. It is
always looking about, trying to be happier; more content. Have you noticed
that? All this wanting to laugh, to have a good time, to be happy... These
things are a sure sign that the soul is forever searching. Souls don't have
legs, but they need a way to get from one place to another so that they can
keep looking. That's why they live in a body, like yours or mine."

"Do they ever escape?"
Charlie would always ask.

"Yes, of course!" said
Grandpa, "Souls spend very little time in the body after they realise that
the best place to be is heaven. So, right from the time when we're very small,
our souls only think of going to heaven, of how to get there."

"And how do they get to
heaven?" Charlie would ask, "Do they fly there?"

"Well of course!"
Grandpa would say, smiling. "That's why they have to change vehicles. When
a star comes by on its way to heaven, the soul makes a great leap right onto
it, leaving the body here on Earth, discarded."

"Discarded? So it doesn't
move any more?" asked Charlie.

"Exactly, not even a
wiggle," said Grandpa. "Here we say someone has died, and it makes us
sad, because our souls are what give life to our bodies, and they are what make
us love other people. But remember I said they are like fidgety bugs, and
that's why, when they see their star shooting off to heaven, they leave without
the slightest worry or hesitation. Now, many souls take a long time to find
their star. I mean, look at me, and how old I am! My soul has been searching
for its star for so many years, and still hasn't had any luck. But some souls,
like those of the best children or the best parents, know better how to find
their star. And that's why they find it, leap onto it, and leave us so
soon."

"And do I have a soul
too?" asked Charlie, "Is it searching for its star?"

"Sure, Charlie," said
Grandpa. "You are your soul. And the day you find your star
you'll forget all about us here. You'll be on your way to heaven to have a
great time with all the souls who are already there."

Satisfied with these words,
Charlie always left his grandpa alone and went happily down to the river. There
he used to sit looking up at the sky, searching for some little star.

And on the day his grandpa died,
thanks to this explanation, Charlie cried only a little bit. He was sad that he
wouldn't see his grandpa again, nor hear his stories, but he was happy that
finally Grandpa’s soul had been lucky enough to find its star after such a long
time. And Charlie smiled at the fact that his grandpa had found his star
precisely while walking down by the river; the exact place where Charlie had gone
so many times to look for his own.

There was a bit of a stir in
heaven when Tatiana turned up. No one expected her; she was still young and,
what's more, she was the mother of two small children. Saint Peter looked at
her, very seriously.

"And what are you doing
here? Surely it's not your time yet".

Even so, after checking the
ledger, he indeed found her name, but still found it hard to believe. It was
true. She had done all the things that allow one to enter into heaven,
including leaving her children with everything they would need, and she had
managed it all in so little time! On seeing his surprise, Tatiana smiled and
said,

"I've always done things
quickly. Ever since Adrian and Andrea were babies I gave them everything I had,
and I kept it in the form of a treasure which only they could access".

Everyone in heaven knew what
Tatiana was referring to. From day one mothers set to work, filling the hearts
of their children with love and virtues. And the rule is that mothers can only
go to heaven once they have completely filled their children's hearts. This was
amazing news. It was very unusual to hear of children having their hearts
filled so soon, and everyone in heaven wanted to investigate.

Looking at children's hearts is
the favourite pastime of the angels. At night, when children are sleeping,
their hearts shine intensely with a purplish light that only angels can see.
The angels certainly come to see; they sit around the children, softly singing
songs of beauty. And so it was that, that night, in the bedroom of Adrian and
Andrea, thousands of angels gathered. Neither of the children had overcome
their grief at their mother's passing, but they were managing to sleep. On
falling asleep, their hearts started to light up, as always. Gradually the
light became more intense until their hearts shone brilliantly and with
unmatched beauty.

Without any doubt, Tatiana had
left their hearts brimming with such love and such virtue that they could have
shared these with thousands of other children. The angels gave thanks for a
spectacle of such beauty, they sang hymns of praise, and resolved to return
each night. On waking, neither Adrian nor Andrea noticed anything strange, but
they did feel filled with a strength to meet the new the day with enthusiasm;
ready to grow and learn in the way their mother had always wanted.

So, without ever failing to miss
their mother, Adrian and Andrea developed into a pair of wonderful children,
overflowing with goodness. Every day they took inspiration from hearts filled
with love and virtue, left to them by their mother, and from the nightly
presence of thousands of angels who came to see them shine.

There was once a little village
separated from the sea and its great cliffs by a forest. That forest was the
village’s best defence against the storms and furies of the sea, that were so
ferocious throughout the region that it was only possible to live where the
village was. Yet the forest was constantly in danger, because a small group of
wicked beings came every night to cut down some of the trees. The villagers
could do nothing to stop the felling, so they were forced to constantly plant
new trees to replace the fallen ones.

And for generations, such was
life for the tree planters. Parents taught their children how to plant, and the
children, from a very early age, spent all their free time planting new trees.
Each family was responsible for replanting a particular area, and had been
since time immemorial. Failure of any family to do this would have brought the
community to ruin.

Of course, most of the planted trees were lost due to a thousand varying
reasons, and only a small percentage reached full growth. But so many were
planted that the protective forest managed to maintain its size, despite the
great storms and the cruel felling of the evil beings.

But then, there was a great
misfortune. One of the families died out due to lack of descendents, and their
area of the forest began losing more trees. There was nothing to be done, the
tragedy was inevitable, and in the village the people prepared to emigrate
after so many centuries.

Even so, one of the young men refused
to abandon the village.

-“I won’t go,”

he said,

-“if needed, I will start a new
family that will look after that area, and I myself will go to work on it from
day one.”

Everyone knew that no one was
capable of looking after a replanting area all on their own and, as the forest
would take some time to thin out, they accepted the young man’s proposal. Yet,
by doing so, they had accepted the greatest revolution ever seen in the
village.

That young man, loved by all, had
no trouble in finding people to help him replant. But those helping hands all
came from other areas, and soon his own area wasn’t the only one in need of
extra help and more trees. These new areas were helped by other families and
soon no one knew whether they should look after their own area or someone
else’s: so to simplify things they just planted trees wherever they were
needed. But they were needed in so many areas that the villagers began planting
even during the night, despite their ancestral fear of the wicked tree cutters.

Those nocturnal plantings meant
the planters came across some of the fellers, only to discover that those
“wicked” beings were nothing more than the frightened members of a tribe that
hid themselves in the labyrinthine cliff caves during the day. They would
surface at night to get some wood and food, so they could survive. As soon as
these “beings” got to see how good it was living in a village on the surface,
having food and water, and knowing how to plant trees, they begged to be
accepted into the village.

With each new night, the village
gained more hands to help with the planting, and there were fewer cave-dwellers
cutting down the trees. Soon, the village filled with grateful “night-beings”
who mixed happily among the old families until they became indistinguishable.
And so great was their influence, that the forest began to expand. Day after
day, year after year, almost imperceptibly, the forest got bigger and bigger,
and it provided more and more protection, until finally the descendants from
that village could live anywhere they liked in the region.

And they never would have known
that, a long time ago, they had their origin in a village protected by a few
trees that were on the point of disappearing.

An allegory about how doing good
and helping others is an attitude that spreads.

Ricky lived in a lovely,
futuristic house, which had everything you could ever want. Though he didn't
help much around the house, Ricky was still as pleased as punch when his
parents bought him the latest model of butler robot. As soon as it arrived, off
it went; cooking, cleaning, ironing, and - most importantly - gathering up old
clothes from Ricky's bedroom floor, which Ricky didn't like having to walk on.
On that first day, when Ricky went to sleep, he had left his bedroom in a truly
disastrous state. When he woke up the next morning, everything was perfectly
clean and tidy.

In fact, it was actually
"too" clean; now Ricky couldn't find his favourite t-shirt, nor his
favourite toy. However much he searched, the two items did not reappear, and
the same was starting to happen with other things. Ricky cast a suspicious eye
on the gleaming butler robot. He hatched a plan to spy on the robot, and began
following it around the house. Finally he caught it red-handed, picking up one
of Ricky's toys to hide it.

Off he went, running to his
parents, to tell them that the butler was broken and badly programmed. Ricky
asked them to have it changed. But his parents told him absolutely not; it was
impossible, they were delighted with the new butler, and it cooked like a
dream. So Ricky needed to get some kind of proof; maybe take some hidden
photos.

He kept on at his parents, about how much good stuff the robot was hiding. This
outweighed however good a cook it was, Ricky argued.

One day, the robot was whirring
past, and heard the boy's complaints. The robot returned with one of the boy's
toys, and some clothes for him.

"Here, sir. I did not know it
was bothering you," said the butler, with its metallic voice.
"How could it not, you thief?! You've been nicking my stuff for
weeks!" the boy answered, furiously.
"The objects were left on the floor. I therefore calculated that you did
not like them. I am programmed to collect all that is not wanted, and at night
I send it to places other humans can use it. I am a maximum efficiency machine.
Were you unaware?" the robot said, with a certain pride.

Ricky started feeling ashamed. He
had spent all his life treating things as though they were useless. He looked
after nothing. Yet it was true that many other people would be delighted to
treat those things with all the care in the world. And he understood that the
robot was neither broken nor misprogrammed, rather, it had been programmed
extremely well!

Since then, Ricky decided to
become a 'Maximum Efficiency Boy', and he put real care into how he treated his
things. He kept them tidy, and made sure he didn't have more than was
necessary. And, often, he would buy things, and take them along with his good
friend, the robot, to help out those other people who needed them.

Treating things well, with care,
is also a sign of respect to those who cannot enjoy such things, and who –given
the chance – would surely treat them well.

Once upon a time, a boy moved
houses. On entering his new bedroom he saw that it was full of toys,
storybooks, pens, pencils... and all of it was perfectly tidy.

That day he played all he liked, but went to bed without having tidied up.

Mysteriously, the next morning
all the toys had been put back in their proper place. He was sure that no one
had entered his bedroom, but the boy didn't pay it much mind. The exact same
thing happened that day, and the next, but when the fourth day arrived and he
went to get his first toy of the day, the toy jumped out of his hands and said,
"I don't want to play with you!"

The boy thought he was seeing
things, but the same happened with every toy he touched. Finally, an old teddy
bear said to him: "Why are you surprised that we don't want to play with
you? You always leave us so far from our proper place, the place we feel most
comfortable and happy. Do you have any idea how difficult it is for the books
to climb back up onto their shelves, or for the pens to jump into their tin?
You haven't a clue how uncomfortable and cold the floor is! We won't play with
you any more until you promise to leave us in our little houses before you go
off to bed."

The boy remembered how comfy and
content he felt in his bed, and how bad he felt when he had once slept in a
chair. He realised how badly he had treated his friends, the toys. He asked
their forgiveness, and from that day he always put his toys nicely in their
special places before he got into bed.

Tulika was really excited. They
had waited many days, but finally, that night, the baby turtles would hatch out
on the beach. And her Daddy was going to take her to see them!

So, Tulika and her father got up when it was still dark, took their torches,
and carefully made their way to the beach. Her father made her promise to
respect the baby turtles, not to make any noise, and to do what he told her.

Well, Tulika was willing to do
almost anything if it meant that she could go and see the turtles hatch. She
didn't really know what it would be like, but her older brother had told her
that the turtles are born on the beach just a few metres from the water's edge.
After hatching they quickly scuttle towards the sea. All that sounded very
exciting to her.

Crouching quietly, by the light
of only one of the torches on a low setting, Tulika and her Daddy waited. She
looked all over, hoping to see Mother Turtle, and she almost missed the appearance
of the first baby turtle.

It was so tiny!

It moved very clumsily, like most
babies; and without waiting for either its brothers or sisters or mother, it
started to scuttle towards the sea. Gradually, more and more baby turtles
appeared, and all ran towards the water. Tulika and her Daddy stayed hidden and
quiet, watching the wonderful spectacle of that crazy race to the sea.

But then something happened
which, to Tulika, seemed horrible. Some seagulls and other birds arrived, and
they started eating some of the little turtles. She kept looking everywhere to
see whether Daddy Turtle would turn up to give those birds a good hiding. But
he never came.

Tulika was watching all this with
tears in her eyes, and when the first group of baby turtles finally reached the
water and were safe from the birds, she gave out a little cry of happiness.

Even with the birds eating quite
a few little turtles, in the end many more reached the sea, and Tulika was very
pleased that they had managed to do so.

On their way home, her father,
who had noticed the tears in Tulika's eyes, explained to her that turtles were
born that way. Mother Turtle lays many eggs, hides them in the sand, and off
she goes. When the baby turtles hatch out, they have to try to reach the sea on
their own. That's why so many are born, because lots of them get eaten by other
animals, and not only on the sand, also in the water. He explained to her that
the few turtles who manage to become adults live for many, many years.

Tulika was really glad to have
learned so much about the turtles that night, but as they continued home all
she could think of was how happy she was to have a family; happy that her
parents and her brothers and sisters had helped her and cared for her so much
right from the day she was born.

30 May, 2012

Not only was Longhands a young pirate boy, he was also the son of a pirate, the grandson of a pirate, and the great grandson of a pirate. Actually, he hadn't yet stolen anything, nor attacked any ship; but his whole family were sure that he'd turn out to be a first class pirate.

Even so, the idea of spending his life robbing people certainly didn't appeal to young Longhands. He knew this because when he was a toddler, one of his cousins had pinched one of his favourite toys, which made Longhands really suffer.

While he was growing up, Longhands' good nature meant that he worried terribly that some day his real pirate personality would suddenly emerge, and send him down the path of robbing, raiding, and pillaging. Every morning, when he woke up, he looked in the mirror to see if the horrible transformation had yet occurred. But every morning he had the same pleasant sort of face he had had the day before.

As time went on, it became obvious to everyone that Longhands wasn't a pirate; but the family tradition was so long and so wonderfully infamous that no one was bold enough to come out and say it.

"It's just that he's a good pirate," they would say. And they would have kept saying it even if Longhands had studied medicine and dedicated his life to caring for the sick. However, Longhands was still worried about turning into a pirate, and he continued consulting the mirror each morning.

One day, though, seeing that he was now an old man, and having seen his children and grandchildren - none of whom had become pirates - he realised that neither himself, nor anyone, was ever forced to be a pirate, whether from natural forces or from duty. Everyone could do whatever they chose with their lives!

And, having chosen his own life and his own path, Longhands felt deeply happy that he never chose to be a pirate.

No one is predestined to do anything. It’s in our own hands to change our lives, from day to day

But the elephant kept following
his dream, and, piece by piece, he managed to cobble together some old bits of
junk and some spare parts, and ended up with a camera of sorts. With this
camera, the elephant had to design practically everything himself, from a
button he pressed with the end of his trunk, to a lens made to fit an
elephant's eye, to a load of wrought iron used to make a frame so the elephant
could attach the camera to his head.

When it was all finished, he
could finally get to taking his first photos. However, the elephant camera was
so enormous and strange-looking that it seemed like some huge ridiculous mask.
So many people laughed as he went by that the elephant began to think of
abandoning his dream... Even worse, it was beginning to look like those who had
said there was nothing to photograph there had been right...

But things worked out
differently. The sight of the elephant walking about with the camera on his
head was so funny that no one could help but laugh when they saw him. And,
using a great deal of good humour, the elephant managed to take some really
amusing, incredible pictures of all the animals. In his photos they always
looked joyful; even the moody rhino! So the elephant managed to become the
official savannah photographer, and animals would come from every direction to
have some nice photos taken for their passport to the zoo.

28 May, 2012

Many, many years ago everyone was
strong and healthy. They ate a very varied diet, and especially loved fruit,
vegetables, and fish. Everyone took daily exercise, and they enjoyed themselves
playing and leaping about. The Earth was the healthiest place you could
imagine, and it was clear that both adults and children were full of joy and
good moods.

All that made the dark witches
furious. They only ever wanted to do harm and make problems for people. The
worst of all of these witches was Sour face; she was evil, and could be relied
on to come up with the nastiest ideas. She suggested that all the witches
combine their energies to invent a potion which would take away people's desire
to live happily. So, one night, all the witches gathered down in the swampy
forest and worked together on that evil spell. The spell was so powerful, and
would need so much energy to cast, that when one of the witches got one of the
words wrong, there was a huge explosion. So big was the explosion, that it completely
destroyed the forest.

It turned all those evil witches
into tiny little creatures, like germs, and left them trapped in a green liquid
inside a small glass bottle, which lay lost in the swamp. There they were
trapped for centuries, until one day a little boy found the bottle. Thinking it
contained some kind of soft drink, he drank the lot. The evil, microscopic
witches took advantage of this situation, and even though they were tiny and
couldn't hurt anyone, they soon learned to change the little boy's likes and
dislikes in order to get him to do what they wanted.

In a few days, a funny feeling in
his mouth and tongue meant the boy no longer wanted to eat vegetables, fruit,
or fish. All he wanted to do was eat ice cream, pizza, burgers, and candy. Then
a nibbling feeling all over his body meant he no longer enjoyed playing and
running about with his friends. All that stuff tired him out; he now just
wanted to stay in the house, sitting or lying about. So, his life got more and
more boring, he started feeling ill, and before long he had no desire to do
anything. The evil potion had worked! And the worst thing of all was that the
witches learned to jump from one person to another, like a virus. They managed
to turn the influence of the potion into the most contagious of diseases: the
disease of wasting your life.

It was a long while before, with
the help of his microscope, Doctor Fitton-Helthie discovered that the little
witches were causing all this disease. There was no vaccine or cough mixture to
get rid of them, but the good doctor discovered that the witches could not
stand joy and good humour. It turned out that the best cure was to make a
strong effort to live a healthy, joyful, and happy life. When a person became
healthy, the little witches would leave that body as soon as they could, riding
off on a sneeze.

From then on, the best remedy was
not pills or injections, but just a little bit of effort to eat some fruit,
vegetables, and fish, and to do some exercise. And whoever came to see Doctor
Fitton-Helthie, and took his advice, ended up totally well, being cured of the
waste-of-life disease.

Although you have to make some
effort to live a healthy and happy life, it pays to eat a little of everything,
and do some exercise.

King Akbar walks on the ways of
his kingdom with few fellows. He notices too many crows on the way and says
that the number of crows has increased a lot in the kingdom. One man talking
with him agrees with the king, and adds that they add to much noise also.

King says that the number of crows in the kingdom is impossible to find out.
Birbal responds that nothing is impossible. Akbar asks him that if that was
possible could he tell him the number of crows in the kingdom. Birbal agrees and
asks for few days for the same.

As always Kind Akbar agrees and says that he will be keenly waiting for his
answer.

A man knocks on the door of Birbals home and asks if he could talk with king
Birbal. He apologies for taking the valuable time of him, to which Birbal
responds with politeness and asks him, how he can he helpful to the man.

The man says that he is a poor peasant and would be ruined, if he does not get
help from him. Birbal assures him, and asks him to tell is tale. The peasant
says that he used to save the money that cold be helpful in his old age and
used to hide it in a vessel, which he use to bury, beneath a tree in his house
compound.

The peasant continues his story that three months ago he decided to go on
pilgrimage and decided to out his savings with his friend Kishorilal.
'Kishorilal is wealthy man'' he continued, 'but a vey good friend of mine,
thinking this I reached his home.

On reaching he tells his friend that he had decided to go to pilgrimage and
decided to meet him. The friend encourages him and asks him to remember him at
the holy places. The poor man says he will, and asks him if he would take care
of his savings, till he returned from the pilgrimage. Kishorilal, the wealthy
man accepts it. The peasant leaves with gratitude.

The peasant completes his pilgrimage and returns to village. He goes to
Kishorilal's home, the next day in hope to recover his hard earned savings. He
gives prasad to him, the wealthy man accepts it and says that since he was busy
with work, the peasant should leave and not disturb him. The poor peasant
replies meekly that he also had come to get back his hard earned, life long
savings.

The wealthy man responds with harsh coolness, what savings and further asks the
peasant if he was in his senses. The poor man meekly tells that it is hard
earned savings,that took his life time. The wealthy man responds with anger
that did he not had enough wealth that he would asks for money from a poor
peasant? And drives him away with anger.The poor man leaves with his head bend
down.

He spent a night in agony, thinking of recovering the lost money, and thought
of meeting Birbal on this subject came to his mind, and thus he was here.
Birbal, thinks for a moment and asks him if there was any witness of giving the
money to Kishorilal. The peasant denies, and continues that, when he was giving
the money to him there was none present there. Birbal asks him not to panic
with respect. He continues that if had given money to Kishorilal he will surely
get the money, and tells him to be present at the kings court, next day along
with Kishorilal.

The man leaves with gratitude.

In the king's court, Birbal tells Akbar, that a man wanted justice, he had
visited him at is home the previous day, and if the king agrees he would like
to present his case. The king agrees, both the kishorilal and Nekiram the
peasant are called in the court, where they bow to the king.

The king asks who the complainer was, Nekiram, the poor peasant presents his
case to the king. The king asks the accused if that was true. The man denies
the charges saying that his good behavior with the peasant was his mistake and
due to that he consider himself as his friend and now wants to dishonor him. He
did not have anything to do with such a poor man.

The king turns to Birbal, He tells that Nekiram will have to get a witness,
Nekiram is scared at this and said there was none. Birbal continues that there
must be someone present when he gave money, a child, plants, trees. He orders
Nekiram to go and not to return without a witness.

The scared Nekiram tries to tell something to the king, to which the king does
not allow him to speak and tells him to leave the court and not to return
without something or someone, who could prove that he was true.

The king asks about the number of crows in the kingdom, which Birbal was
suppose to answer. He responds that according to him there were ten thousand
nine hundred and five crows in the kingdom, to the amazement of everyone
present in the court.

The king asks him if he was sure, and what, if he was wrong. Birbal says that
he was sure, and if there were more or less than that number, it would be
because either crows from neighboring kingdom are visiting this kingdom or the
crows of the kingdom are visiting the neighboring kingdom.

The king congratulates him at the witty answer.

Than Birbal wonders why Nekiram was taking so long to bring anything or anyone
as witness. Kishorilal mocks that Nekiram would be finding it difficult to
bring the huge peepal tree in the court. Birbal instantly asks the king to
penalize Kishorilal. He said how come Kishorilal tell about the peepal tree,
surely he must have taken the money neat the peepal tree, that made him respond
in such manner.

There was once a rich and kindly
old man who, reaching the end of his days, decided to leave his possessions to
some honest and intelligent young man. Speaking of this decision, he told a
good friend that he wanted to choose wisely. The friend advised him,“The next time you sell
something, and are giving the customer their change, make sure you give them
too much. The customer who returns the extra money to you, you will know that
they are honest”.

The rich man thanked his friend
for the advice, and thinking it a good idea, and easy to carry out, he decided
to try it.

What he did not know was this.
One of those present during the conversation – a neighbour who pretended to be
his friend, but was really very envious of the rich old man – hired the
services of a wizard. He paid the wizard to cast a spell on the rich old man’s
coins. The spell would mean that anyone who saw coins touched by the old man,
rather than seeing them as coins, would see them as that which the customer
wanted most in the world.

With this plan, the envious
neighbour believed that no customer would return the old man’s change, and,
having no one to leave his money to, the old man would leave it all to the
neighbour’s young nephew.

Indeed, everything went according
to plan for the greedy neighbour, and not a single customer was able to return
the enchanted coins. Some saw in these coins the biggest diamond or precious
stone, others saw a work of art, some saw a relic, and some saw a miraculous
healing potion. When the old man had almost given up trying to find an honest
person, the greedy neighbour sent his nephew to the old man’s business, taking
great care to instruct the boy to return the old man’s money. The nephew was
determined to do so, but on receiving the enchanted coins he saw in them all
the possessions and honours of his own uncle. Believing that what his uncle had
told him was a trick, he left with his useless coins and his greed, to no end,
since when his uncle learned of this betrayal, he made his nephew banish
forever.

The rich old man, sick and
depressed, decided to call his servants before he died. He gave them some
possessions so that they could live freely when he was no longer with them.
Among these servants was a youth, who received some portion of this money by
mistake. The youth, raised in the house of the wise and just old man, who he
loved like a father, saw, in place of the money, a powerful medicine which
would cure the old man, since this was truly what he most wanted in the world.
On seeing this, the youth offered the money back to the old man, saying “Take
this, Sir, it’s for you; it will make you feel better.”

And the return of that simple
coin indeed acted like the most miraculous of cures. The old man leapt with joy
at having finally found an honest person, and it filled him with joy to find
that this honest person had always been in his very own house.

And so, the young servant went on
to manage, with great justice, generosity and honesty, all the old man’s
possessions and business concerns. And the old man went on to accompany and
advise him like a son for many more years.

The best way to encourage honesty
is to create an environment of honesty and generosity, since he who wants
nothing for himself is farthest from falling into greed and envy.

02 May, 2012

There was once a boy who was very
rich and clever. He had practically everything a boy could ever want, so he was
only interested in the most rare and curious of objects. This happened to him
in relation to a very old mirror, and he convinced his parents to buy it from a
mysterious old man. When the mirror arrived home, the boy went to see his
reflection in it. His face looked very sad indeed. He tried smiling and making
funny faces, but his reflection continued with its sad expression.

Surprised, the boy went off to
buy sweets. He came home as happy as can be, to look in the mirror, but his
image was still sad-looking. He bought all kinds of toys and old junk, but
forever looked sad in that mirror. Fed up, the boy stuck the mirror off in a
corner.

"Crikey, what a terrible
mirror! It's the first time I've seen a mirror that didn't work properly!"

That same afternoon he went into
the street to play and to buy a few toys, but on his way to the park he saw a
little boy who was crying his heart out. The boy was crying so much, and looked
so lonely, that the rich boy went over to help him and to see what had
happened. The little one told him that he had lost his parents.

Together the two boys set off in
search of them. As the little boy wouldn't stop crying, our boy spent his money
on buying him sweets to cheer him up. Finally, after much walking, they found
his parents who were out looking for him, very worried.

The rich boy said goodbye, and walked
off towards the park. But, seeing the time, he decided to turn round and head
for home, without having been able to play, without toys, and without money. At
home, he went to his room, and noticed a shining light in the corner; the same
corner he had left the mirror in. Seeing this, he went over to the mirror, and
realised that the light was coming from his own body, so radiant with happiness
he had become.

And so he understood the mystery
of that mirror, the only mirror which could faithfully reflect the true joy of
its owner. He realised it was true; he felt genuinely happy at having helped
that little boy.

And since then, each morning when
he looked in that mirror and failed to see a special shine, he already knew
what he had to do to bring it back.

Marina was extremely afraid of
the dark. When the lights went out, everything and every shadow appeared to her
as the most terrible of monsters. Her parents explained to her, everyday and
with great patience, that these things were not monsters. Marina understood her
parents, but she could not stop feeling an awful fear whenever it was dark.

One day her Aunt Valerie came to
visit. Valerie was an incredible woman. She was famous for her courage, and for
having gone on many journeys of adventure, some of which had been made into
books and movies. Marina wanted to conquer her fear of the dark, so she asked
her Aunt how she became so brave, and whether she had ever been frightened.

"A great many times,
Marina," answered her Aunt, "I remember when I was small and I was
terribly afraid of the dark. I couldn't stay in the dark for even a
moment".

Marina became very excited. How
was it possible that someone so courageous could have been afraid of the dark?

"I'll tell you a secret,
Marina. It was some blind children who taught me how to be brave. They can't
see, so if they had never discovered the secret of how not to be afraid of the
dark, they would have been forever frightened".

"It's true!" said Marina, intrigued, "Can you tell me that
secret?"

"Of course! The secret is to change your eyes. Since blind children can't
see, their hands are their eyes. All you have to do to conquer your fear is
what they do. Shut the eyes of your face and open the eyes of your hands. Let's
make a deal: tonight, when you go to bed and put out the light, if anything
makes you afraid, close your eyes, carefully get out of bed, and try to see
what it is that's making you scared. But do it using your hands as eyes... and
tomorrow tell me how you're getting on with the fear".

Marina accepted, but she was
rather worried. She knew she would need to be brave to close her eyes and go
and touch whatever it was that was frightening her; but she was willing to try
because she was already too old for this. When her parents took her to bed, she
herself put out the light. After a little while, she felt afraid of one of the
shadows in the bedroom. Following the advice of Aunt Valerie, she closed the
eyes of her face and opened the eyes of her hands. And, summoning up all her
courage, she went over to touch that mysterious shadow...

The next morning Marina came
running into the kitchen, a big smile on her face, and a song on her lips.
"The monster is so soft and smooth!..." she cried,
"It's my teddy bear!"

A way to overcome fear of
darkness in children, through imagination and creativity.